My insights come as a result of a collaboration between myself via Pitch121, and - data whizz- Martin Zeman of Business Leaders Family.

Jointly we have ongoing access to data from over 2000 posts, giving us a direct line into what the Algo is up to.

 

Post Data = Algo Secrets

Not everyone has the time - or inclination- to crunch the numbers, but the insight you gain is key to visibility on LinkedIn.

Martin and I take a detailed look at the data a couple of times a year. Our last comprehensive roundup was in April and comparing this with end of the year stats we can enjoy some tasty takeaways!

Read on and let’s get 2024 off to a great start!

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What type of posts are hot?

PDF’s or Document Posts (aka Carousels or Gallery) and Video Posts give your posts an extra boost.

However when we drill into the detail, you can find a very successful post in any of the types. For example- there were some reshare posts that were 100% above the median.

👉Note; We use a ‘median’ rather than an average. The median is the middle number in a sequence. Unlike the average, it isn't easily skewed by extreme values. It provides a reliable sense of what's typical in the group.  I told you Martin was a data whizz!

April 2023

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December 2023

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Takeaway

🔥Use the formats that are doing particularly well right now, however, mixing up your post format is good practice.  It keeps your audience interested as well as appealing to different viewers.

🔥Polls have lost some popularity, but some can still perform well. Make your question simple and divide (and conquer) opinions to boost your engagement.

🔥Don’t be afraid of video. It is something that many resist doing- but it is worth it. Especially as AI becomes more commonplace- video with ‘you’ in it, offers human connection and authenticity.

👉Tip; videos under 15 seconds long will play on a loop when posted.

Perfect Pages

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When it comes to Document/Carousel/PDF Posts, (all names for the same type of post) they are showing consistent success throughout the year.

Earlier in the year people tended to assume 5 or 7-9 pages was the optimum. However time - and of course data - shows us that documents with 17 - 20 pages can be extremely successful; as long as their content keeps the viewer engaged.

One post with a 20 page pdf racked up 500k impressions, 2k likes 300 comments & 56 reposts.

Nice work!

Takeaway

🔥Don’t be afraid to spread your message across a (reasonably) higher page count.

🔥40 plus pages is too high, and performance dips.

🔥Make sure you don’t put too much text on each page. Remember it needs to be legible on mobile, and easy to swipe through with the viewer keen to read on until the end.

🔥Make the content useful, engaging, conversational and shareable.

👉Tip; Canva is a great tool. You can create a template to make your assets faster.

Square or portrait formats work equally well - try these sizes;

square: 1080 x 1080 px

portrait: 1920 x 1080 px

100 MB (maximum) size, export as PDF

Not all sources are created equal…

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There is a common idea that it's a ‘no no’ to include a link in your post. Many users of LinkedIn add a link instead in the comment thread.

But this is a myth!

For quite a long time now, we have clearly found that including a link in your post text does not have any negative effect.

Besides, if your post is reshared, you will lose any link you have added in the comments.

Takeaway

🔥If the link is important - then bite the bullet and include it in the post text.

🔥We found that some links actually perform better than others. Sources such as BBC and Forbes do well, while Eventbrite isn’t favoured at all.

Have you noticed any sources which perform better or worse?

📉Let me know in the comments, or DM me - I’m keen to add your experiences into my data!

Likes, comments & reposts

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Martin believes that LinkedIn is giving Likes and Comments the same or a very close value.

Previously Comments had a higher impact but our data highlights a ‘sweet spot’ of 40+ Likes or 14+ Comments, which takes the post above the median.

From the stats below, you can see that the number of comments may not be significant until you get to 14 or more.  We see posts with 100 likes but no comments doing very well.

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Likes on a comment are valuable too. 9-10 likes on a comment give the post a boost.

Having a post that is then reposted has great benefits.

Takeaway

🔥Encourage Likes and Reposts.

🔥Pictures with you in them = lots of likes

🔥Useful info eg infographics, how to’s = reposts

🔥A cause or belief to share = reposts

👉 We analysed one post which was (accidentally) controversial.

It got 55k views, which was 3000% above the poster’s median.

The detractors commented and the supporters re-posted!

Finally, if you do one thing, do this:

One top tip that never seems to change from month to month or even year to year- but is still the hardest to implement is…

…regular posting.

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So as we start 2024, why not set an - achievable - goal of posting?

Even once a week is better than nothing, as long as you are consistent. Be sure to spend time liking and commenting on other people's posts too.

Takeaway

🔥Post first thing in the morning, and make it part of your routine.

🔥Reply to all comments you receive on your own post, and comment and like on others.

🔥Aim to add value in a comment, to encourage more engagement and connection.

🔥I have videos in my Academy which can help with posting and amplification, (Free Trial Period) as well as a weekly email Content Update for inspiration.